An Elyria man was indicted on one count of tampering with an official proceeding, said U.S. Attorney Carole S. Rendon.
Micah Jackson, 20, attempted to influence two federal witnesses to retract their previously sworn testimony on Nov. 9, 2016, according to the indictment.
The witnesses’ testimony was given at a supervised release violation hearing before a U.S. District Court judge. The defendant in the supervised release hearing was related to Jackson. Jackson attempted to influence each witnesses’ testimony by posting their pictures on Facebook with rat emojis above the witnesses’ faces, with the intent that each witness would change their previously sworn testimony, according to the indictment.
If convicted, the sentence in this case will be determined by the court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the unique characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benedict S. Gullo. The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
